The wall of the warehouse collapsed early Sunday on the huts abutting it. The wall was being built for a private warehouse in Tiruvallur, around 50 km from here, officials said. A portion of the wall fell on the shacks near it.

Rescue operations have been completed and the bodies have been sent for autopsy, Veeraraghava Rao, district collector, told reporters. He said strict action would be taken against those who were responsible for the incident. This is the second such incident at a construction site within a week in the state.

On June 28, an 11-storey residential building which was under construction collapsed, killing 61 people and injuring 27 in Chennai.